Tesla CEO Elon Musk spars with moderator over DOGE savings
At the Qatar Economic Forum, Elon Musk sparred with journalist Mishal Husain over DOGE savings.
WASHINGTON – Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and Republican mega-donor who helped bankroll President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, said he intends to substantially cut back his political spending in future elections as he shifts his attention to his business empire.
“I think in terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future,” Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said on May 20 at the Bloomberg News at the Qatar Economic Forum. “I think I’ve done enough.”
Musk recently scaled back his work leading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, aimed at slashing federal spending. His reduced White House role ‒ he’s described as devoting a day or two a week to DOGE ‒ followed massive profit losses for Tesla, his electric car company, after Musk became an increasingly polarizing figure as Trump’s top sidekick.
Musk was asked during an interview at the Bloomberg forum whether his decision to spend less on politics was prompted by public blowback. Musk responded, “Well, if I see a need to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don’t currently see a reason.”
Musk pumped nearly $290 million into the 2024 election to help Trump and other Republican candidates, making him the largest donor, by far, of the election cycle.
More recently, Musk spent $20 million to help the Republican-backed candidate in a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin. It turned into an embarrassing setback after Susan Crawford, who was backed by Democrats, won by about 10 percentage points. Her win came after Musk declared the outcome could decide “the future of America and Western civilization.”
Musk also said he’s committed to staying on as Tesla’s CEO for another five years, saying at the forum that maintaining “reasonable control” of Tesla was the most important factor for him.
Despite his less visible role with DOGE, Musk tagged along during Trump’s three-country swing to the Middle East last week. During a stop in Saudi Arabia, Musk announced his company SpaceX struck a deal to bring its Starlink internet services to the country for aviation and maritime shipping.
Contributing: Reuters.
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